Utilising living lab principles to model and create a collaborative education environment — The CAT schools programme

Educational environments are a particular area in which Living Lab principles can be applied to form co-creation environments. This paper presents a report on the design of such a pseudo-Living Lab, which was designed and created using a Living Lab factory framework approach. The subsequent model was used in the establishment and rollout of the so-called CAT Schools Project in the greater Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa areas in Gauteng, South Africa. The main aim of this project is to increase the current number of learners that pass CAT on a Grade 12 level in the specified areas. Computer labs were created at eight schools through the collaborative efforts of the staff and students of the faculties and directorates of TUT, as well as the industry sponsors and officials from the Department of Basic Education. Services are delivered by the staff and students of TUT and by technicians from the industry sponsors to maintain the computer centres and to train and support the CAT teachers. The paper discusses the roles of each player in the Living Lab to ensure success. The paper also provides key success factors and outlines the potential impact of the project.